Bears three and out: What worked, what didn’t in London
The Bears and Caleb Williams responded from a slow start by blowing out the Jacksonville Jaguars, 35-16, Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Here’s what you need to know.
Three moments that mattered
1. Pip pip, cheerio: Williams and the Bears offense put the game away after the defense forced its second turnover of the day. Running back D’Andre Swift scored on a 1-yard run to give his team a 35-10 lead with 12:33 left in the game. The Bears started its drive after cornerback Josh Blackwell intercepted a pass for the first time in his career.
2. Momentous punch: The Bears turned defense into offense again in the third quarter. Bears linebacker TJ Edwards punched out a ball caught by the Jaguars’ Evan Engram, which was recovered by safety Elijah Hicks. The offense went 41 yards down the field and Williams found Keenan Allen for his first touchdown as a Bear to give the Bears a 21-3 lead with 11:26 left in the third quarter.
3. Third drive the charm: After a slow start to the game, the Bears’ offense got things going on its third drive. They drove 81 yards down the field and scored on an impressive play call from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Williams faked a pass to both sidelines before finding a wide open Cole Kmet, who dove into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 7-3 Bears with 11:17 left in the second quarter.
Three things that worked
1. Caleb’s career game: Williams took another step in the sixth game of his career. He threw a career-high four touchdown passes, two apiece to Kmet and Allen. After throwing for 3 yards on two drives in the first quarter, Williams completed 23 of his 29 passes for 226 yards. Williams became the first Bears rookie to throw three touchdowns since Cade McNown in 1999.
2. Rinse and repeat: The Bears’ defense created a turnover for the sixth straight game and had its fifth multiple-turnover game of the year. Edwards forced the Bears’ sixth forced fumble of the season, Hicks recovered the team’s ninth fumble and Blackwell intercepted the team’s seventh pass. The defense thought Tremaine Edmunds forced the team’s first turnover of the day in the second quarter but the play was reversed.
3. Have a day, Cole: Kmet had one of his strongest games of the season in more ways than one. He caught two touchdowns, the most he’s had in a game this season and his fifth multi-touchdown game in his career. Kmet was also pressed into action as a team’s emergency long snapper after Scott Daly left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter.
Three things that didn’t
1. Failure to launch: The Bears’ offense struggled again to build any momentum in the first quarter. The unit went three-and-out on both of its possessions in the first quarter and gained seven yards on six plays. The Bears have scored 10 points in the first quarter through six games so far this season, seven of which came against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5.
2. Another injury: An injury-depleted Bears secondary suffered another tough loss in the third quarter when cornerback Kyler Gordon suffered a hamstring injury. Gordon didn’t return and was ruled out. The Bears already played without safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf).
3. Missed opportunity: Although Williams took another step in the right direction Sunday, he could’ve had a bigger day if not for a missed play. Facing third-and-1 from the Jaguars 41-yard line in the second quarter, Williams had a chance to hit DJ Moore for a deep pass with a nice matchup. But Williams floated the pass and threw his first interception since Week 3.
What’s next?
The Bears will return home from London and have a bye week. They’ll return to game action Oct. 27 at Washington.